1. Field
The present application is directed to resettable circuit interrupting devices including without limitation ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI's). Certain embodiments of the present application are directed to circuit interrupting devices using a neutral fault simulation. Certain embodiments of the present application are directed to circuit interrupting devices including a neutral to neutral test switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently available GFCI devices, such as the device described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,894, use an electrically activated trip mechanism to mechanically break an electrical connection between the line side and the load side of a GFCI. Such devices are resettable after they are tripped by, for example, the detection of a ground fault. In the device discussed in the '894 patent, the trip mechanism used to cause the mechanical breaking of the circuit (i.e., the conductive path between the line and load sides) includes a solenoid (or trip coil). A test button is used to test the trip mechanism and circuitry used to sense faults, and a reset button is used to reset the electrical connection between line and load sides.
Commonly owned application Ser. No. 09/138,955, filed Aug. 24, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,967, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, describes a family of resettable circuit interrupting devices capable of locking out the reset portion of the device if certain conditions exist including the circuit interrupting portion being non-operational or if an open neutral condition, grounded neutral exists. Such device may use a simulated ground fault to initiate a device test.
Commonly owned application Ser. No. 09/379,138 filed Aug. 20, 1999, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, describes a family of resettable circuit interrupting devices capable of independently tripping and protecting against reverse wiring.